Jeff Nichols and Kathryn Tucker are proving that even a small place like Little Rock can have a remarkable impact on the film industry. As co-founders of the Arkansas Cinema Society (ACS), they are committed to bringing Southern storytellers to Little Rock annually.
The core of ACS’s efforts is their annual Filmland event, a blend of festival and conference where Nichols invites peers to showcase and discuss their work. Throughout the year, ACS supports both amateur and professional filmmakers by providing a platform for films that might otherwise go unseen in the state, such as Oscar nominees “The Zone of Interest” and “Anatomy of a Fall.”
Nichols, who recognized a gap in local film engagement eight years ago, reached out to Tucker, his high school friend, to address it. He recalls, “When I took ‘Loving’ back to Little Rock, there wasn’t even a mailing list.” With Tucker’s experience in marketing at Miramax and her connections in Little Rock, including her influential brother, she joined Nichols in launching ACS to foster film literacy and nurture local talent.
Tucker, a veteran of the Directors Guild Training Program, aims to improve film incentives in Arkansas to attract bigger-budget productions and retain local talent. In the meantime, Arkansas faces competition from states with more aggressive tax incentives.
Last year, ACS organized a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary short “The Barber of Little Rock,” which was supported by local resources and highlighted by a Q&A with mayor Frank Scott Jr. and community advocate Arlo Washington.
John Hoffman, co-director of “Barber,” praised ACS for their support in providing local crew and equipment. Modeled after the Austin Film Society, ACS offers grants to indie directors, assists with local casting, and mentors young filmmakers.
Tucker’s Filmmaking Lab for Teen Girls, inspired by Reese Witherspoon, teaches high school girls the filmmaking process, helping them create a film for their college applications. Isabelle Rogers, the program’s first graduate, now serves as ACS’s education coordinator.
Filmland functions as a major networking and fundraising event, with sponsors like Panavision and the Tyson Family Foundation. This year’s event features a new Southern Storytellers Panel with Michael Schwartz, Christy Hall, and Clint Bentley, hosted by Variety.
Nichols reflects on the power of regional storytelling, noting that “stories from rural southeast Arkansas can resonate globally, as evidenced by their presence at Cannes.”